Illinois Recovers Florida’s Fumbled Light-Rail Dough

More than 100 million people live within 500 miles of each other in the Midwest-Great Lakes economic region and at rush hour, it can seem like they are all on the road at the same time. To help alleviate that congestion, trim the massive amount of energy used to move all those people in single-driver cars, generate jobs and clean the environment, the federal government is investing in light-rail in a big way.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has already invested more than $1.4 billion dollars to create an extensive light-rail network in the region and now, thanks to a baffling move by the state of Florida, Illinois is about to receive another $186 million to supplement one of the network’s main corridors, a high-speed line reaching from Chicago to St. Louis.

image via Midwest High Speed Rail

So how did Illinois benefit from a Florida blunder? The federal government is betting big on light rail, already investing billions across the county to create a more accessible and speedier passenger rail network. The hope is this investment will make high-speed rail accessible to 80 percent of Americans within 25 years while also bolstering the country’s infrastructure, adding much-needed jobs while also reducing energy consumption, travel times and environmental impacts. Back in February 2011, when the DOT was handing out grants for the national rail system, newly elected Republican Governor Rick Scott, at the time facing almost 12 percent unemployment in his state, turned down more than $2 billion for a planned high-speed link between Tampa and Orlando. Fellow Florida Republican and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee John Mica said the decision “defies logic.”

1 Comment

Willie Green

It is indeed ironic that John Mica claims that Governor Rick Scott’s blunder “defies logic” when Mica is himself an obstructionist of regional passenger rail service.u00a0nnu00a0As chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John Mica’s primary source of campaign funding comes from the Airline Industry. And to protect the profits of that industry, Mica has used his position to suppress competitive regional passenger rail service nationwide by diverting all available funding to the high cost NE Corridor.nnIt is indeed fortunate that Illinois is the beneficiary of funding that has already been appropriated. u00a0They are making very pragmatic upgrades to their regional service despite Mica’s obstructionism.